Simon Paul Thurston

So what exactly is ‘Direct Response’ marketing, you’re possibly thinking? Simply put, its marketing that provides you with direct and measurable results. And both of those points are important… First of all, if you are not measuring all of your marketing activity, whether its your website’s effectiveness, emails, direct mail, referrals, etc., then HOW do you REALLY know... Read more...

With 2010 firmly confined to the history books now, what does 2011 hold for you and your business? Well first off, I’m hoping you gave this some thought before the end of last year. If you didn’t, well you need to get thinking… and fast. But to kick off 2011 I thought that a word of cautionary advice would interest you. It emphasises that knowing what NOT to do is just as important... Read more...

You’ll now know (from my last post) that a headline is the most important aspect of your written or online marketing. If you did know that then you may want to read my previous post about the importance of headlines. It never ceases to amaze me how many websites and advertisements I see that don’t have headlines. Does yours? All adverts should have a headline. And a website, flier, brochure... Read more...

Headlines are important for your business’ marketing. The difference between a good headline and a bad headline is the difference between success and failure in marketing or advertising. So why is this? Why is it that important? Well, a headline is really an advert for an advert. Given the function of all your advertising and marketing (including your website, leaflets, brochures, etc.) is to... Read more...

Testing. Testing is the keystone of successful marketing. Those that do it properly will flourish and those that don’t do it often lose a lot of money. So why is it that almost no one does it? Well, it may not at first glance appear to be the most ’sexy’ of things. It takes time, and often as business owners we’re looking for that quick fix, that ’silver bullet’... Read more...

No, I’ve not gone bonkers… Vilfredo Pareto’s principal finding, whether you’ve heard of him or not, is an important factor in YOUR business, just as it is in mine. So I’ll explain who is to you, shall I?… Well it dates back to 1906 when Pareto, an Italian economist, observed that 80% of the land in Italy belonged to 20% of the population. Aha, I hear you say! Now... Read more...

I was speaking to a friend very recently and an interesting subject came up. It was about implementing certain strategies into a business, to which I chirped in with… “If you’re going to lose, it is better to lose quickly”. My friend thought that sounded a little negative, a tad defeatist even. The fact is it’s not, not at all. Most Businesses Make this Fatal Mistake You... Read more...

If you’ve been keeping your fingers firmly on the pulse of the marketing for your business, you’ll have noticed that “Google Places” formerly “Google Local” has changed again. And if you haven’t, you really ought to. The changes could have a profound affect for all businesses. Google announced these changes on 27.10.2010 stating that “Place Search”... Read more...

It may be an over-used phrase, however perception REALLY is reality. Your prospects’ PERCEPTION of you is critical to the success of you and your business – even more so than the actual TRUTH in fact. How they see and perceive you is vitally important. based upon this they will choose to want to do business with you, or not. So there is a lot hinging on this, isn’t there? I have recorded... Read more...

Hopefully you have received some testimonials from clients in the past. If not, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t valued by your clients – sometimes it pays to ask for them! So why are testimonials so useful? And how can they be used to their absolute advantage? … To YOUR absolute advantage?… They should be used in ALL of your marketing materials. So your website... Read more...